NCJ Number
164183
Journal
NCJA Justice Bulletin Volume: 16 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1996) Pages: 7-13
Editor(s)
R A Kapler
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A review of U.S. Supreme Court decisions addresses issues of selective prosecution, forfeiture, search and seizure, juvenile justice, and the death penalty.
Abstract
In a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court held that before they are entitled to discovery information, defendants who claim that they have been targeted for drug charges because of their race must first show that people of other races in similar situations have not been prosecuted. The Court also ruled that Federal district courts cannot rule against a person who claims an interest in property subject to civil forfeiture just because the claimant has failed to appear in a related criminal prosecution. In other action, the Court issued decisions in two search-and-seizure cases. The Court ruled in the first case that the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures is not violated when a police officer, who has probable cause to believe that a driver has committed a traffic infraction, stops the vehicle, even if the officer would not have stopped the vehicle had he not suspected the occupants were engaged in unrelated criminal activity. In the second case, the Court ruled that appellate courts must review independently trial courts' determinations of whether a police officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle and to conduct a warrantless search. The Court refused to hear an appeal of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act authorizes, but does not mandate, complete closure of juvenile proceedings. Finally, in early June the Court held an emergency hearing to consider the constitutionality of a new Federal law that limits the ability of inmates to appeal their death sentences.